After my win in round one, I was paired against David Rupel, a National Master currently rated 1974. I had the white pieces and managed to outplay him in the opening. He played h6 and a6 consecutively which left him a little worse.
Everything seemed to be going my way until move seventeen. I played the committal b4 allowing Black’s knight a strong outpost on the c4 square. I thought (incorrectly) that this could be countered with my own knight hopping to b3 and then the c5 square. It turns out, Black’s pieces are more menacing and have greater threats than mine.
Dave hit me with a couple of tactics that I did not defend well against. The lesson in this game is a reminder to not over press and look for moves that take away your opponents counterplay.